Fantasy vs Reality

I want to begin this journal with two quotes, each from men far older and more accomplished than myself. The first is from George R. R. Martin, author of A Song of Ice and Fire series. It is called On Fantasy: “The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as …

Thoughts on the ending of “All Clear”

…but first, a warning: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS EXPLICIT, DETAILED SPOILERS FOR THE END OF BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR, AND SOME VAGUE SPOILERS FOR ANATHEM. READERS WHO HAVE NOT READ THESE TITLES AND CARE DEEPLY ABOUT HAVING KEY PLOT POINTS REVEALED TO THEM SHOULD GO AND READ BLACKOUT/ALL CLEAR FIRST, AND THEN POSSIBLY ANATHEM, (not so much because I spoil …

Skirting the Block

I was recently at a dinner gathering where I wound up engaged in conversation with a teacher. She was an English teacher, she said, she taught children how to write. She got very interested when she learned I was a writer, and asked how I dealt with my writer’s block. First I was amused that …

Everything is Connected

I think I am a writer/artist (as opposed to an artist/writer), but to be perfectly honest, what I am is someone who makes up stories. Sometimes they get written down; sometimes they get drawn. Sometimes the artwork is there to illustrate a story; sometimes the story comes from a drawing. And sometimes (quite often, in …

Hands

It has become apparent to me from reading the relative blogs on the subject that self-epubbing as a means of making a living is not the “normal” way to go about it. If there is a “normal” way to do this I don’t think it’s going to survive in its current state for much longer. …

Damnit, Dexter

I have not updated recently on the grounds that there has been nothing to update about. I have not finished any novels, published any novels, or really done anything that would merit a mention on this blog. This is not to say I have not been busy. I have been very busy. Mired in things …